Sin Spire - Dev Log 06

Hello everyone! After a short break due to illness, I’m back at work on Sin Spire. While I’m not fully recovered, I’m well enough to concentrate again. Since I’ve only been back at it for a few days, I don’t have much to show, so I figured I’d take this opportunity to discuss some things I’ve been putting off talking about.

First, a quick update: Pictured above is the latest addition to the game’s enemy roster - the Butcherette. She’s a large, cleaver-wielding foe, designed to be a high-threat but slow-moving enemy. There’s still a lot of work to be done, particularly with animations, so expect more updates next week. I’ve been working on other things too, but I’ll save those for another time.

Now, onto the main topic I wanted to discuss: releases. Even though Sin Spire is in early alpha, I’ve been thinking a lot about the release timeline. My goal is still to release the game this year, with some flexibility for early next year if needed. I know real life and unexpected events, like illness, can disrupt the development cycle, so predicting timelines can be tricky. But regardless, my aim remains the same as when I first announced the project.

Another big goal regarding releases is releasing the game on Steam. This has always been a dream of mine, even before Steam became a major platform for indie games. My plan is to submit the application for a store page as soon as I have enough promotional material ready. I’m still figuring out the process, but getting the page up early seems like a good move, especially considering the next point I'm about to bring up.

I’ve been considering releasing Development Builds. This would be to gather feedback and interact more closely with the community. Though, my main concern has been about making a good first impression. I don’t want the first build to be a bug-ridden mess, especially if it somehow makes it way off Patreon and finds itself elsewhere. Ideally, it’d be released in good shape with links to all relevant socials, including the Steam page.

For distributing the builds, I’m open to suggestions. I might send them directly to patrons via email or simply link the download in a private post. Let me know your preferences, and we’ll try to figure out the best approach.

One of my favorite parts of releasing Halls of the Pale Widow was engaging with the community after its initial release. To facilitate more direct feedback in the future, I’m considering creating a Discord group. Although I have some concerns about managing it, especially with the prevalence of scam bots, locking the server behind the lowest Patreon tier could help. That said, I don’t really want to exclude those who can’t pay from participating in the discussion. It’s something to think about, depending on interest. It might be good to just try a fully public link and see how that goes.

In the coming weeks, my focus will be on creating artwork for the Steam page and preparing for build releases. I want to clean up the builds so you’re not downloading unnecessary gigabytes of data. There’s no strict timeframe for any of this but I will post updates in the usual places. Until then, it’s time to hunker down and get back to work.

Thank you all for your continued support, and see you next week!